Won't You Be My Neighbor?

The British Museum is magnificent. The treasures it contains are enough to make even newlyweds catch their breath and think of something other than themselves for a minute. One of my favorite things were the giant Assyrian sculptures. For a person who knew the Bible, particularly the prophetic bits, inside and out it was like stepping into the past. The experience took my breath away. I only wish I'd had the guts to touch it. I love museums, and after a while they take on a rhythm that includes a tour of some piece or other of all the major civilizations. I just took this for granted, because I love history and I don't expect I'll ever be able to travel to all those places to see things for myself.
Then I watched Rick Steve's Iran. He went to the major museum in Tehran and the collection of antiquities from the home of one of the greatest ancient civilizations is filled with little pots and small artifacts. Why don't they have any great displays like the British Museum? All that stuff is at the British Museum and other important museums around the world. The visit to Persepolis made me feel a little better, but not much. What have we done stripping struggling communities of their heritage?
Isn't it time for antiquities to be returned to the places of origin? Ok, so that's an idea before it's time, but we should at least begin thinking and talking about it. Someday the global community will think of itself in neighborly terms. Hopefully the oil crisis will have pushed us to discover better and cheaper modes of transportation that will allow more people to travel and thus make seeing items in their native habitat an attractive idea. Perhaps returning that borrowed sculpture will finally make enough of an impact on our conscience. Maybe it will also help us to appreciate our own native cultures and their part in our history. It's just a thought.